while others are closing up shop. which is still sort of interesting to me that people are flocking to buy guns after that massacre, first graders. >> america has an almost insatiable appetite for guns. we are seeing that even after a tragedy. it is fascinating. then this flu season goes from bad to even worse. cases are now spreading, ers are packed, and the latest expert advice on how to stay healthy, try to, shaping up to be the worst flu season in a decade. so you got your shot. >> got to get the shots. >> i need to get mine. >> kids need them. later, a heart stopping story of survival. a terrible car wreck, you see it there. then a mother's frantic search for her little boy, the boy they're now calling the miracle baby. >> that is not hyperbolic, when you hear what happened and he survived. >> a miracle.

president obama prepares to officially start his second term in a few days. he is facing some major personnel shakeups. >> the president could name his choice for the next secretary of defense as early as today. here's abc's chuck sebritson. >> reporter: for president obama the vacation is over. mr. obama returns from hawaii to a climate that is chilly in more ways than one. he has chosen former republican senator chuck hagel as secretary of defense. hagel would be a controversial pick. he advocates negotiating with iran and some question how strongly he supports israel. one pro israel group is running an ad against hagel. >> president obama, for secretary of defense, chuck hagel is not a responsible option. even the top senate republican says he is reserving judgment. >> i am going to wait and see how the hearings go and see whether chuck's views square with the job he would be

nominated to do. >> some democrats are speaking up for him. >> chuck hagel is a tremendous patriot and statesman. served incredibly in vietnam. served this country as the united states senator. >> reporter: president obama is about to lose his treasury secretary. tim geithner is the last original member of the president's economic team. he leaves as three major deadlines loom. by end of february, the treasury will lose the power to borrow more to pay america's bills. across the board spending cuts to every federal program kick in on march 1. the government will run out of all congressional funding by the end of march. the current chief of staff is expected to inherit those headaches as geithner's replacement. president obama promised quick action on vice president joe biden's proposals on new gun control laws following the shootings in newtown, connecticut. in newtown, connecticut,

they are being overwhelmed by donations. though town officials said they have more than they can handle, toys, school supplies and other gifts keep pouring in in the wake of the massacre newtown now has a warehouse to hold the items being trucked in every day. a task force will figure out how to deal with all of the donations. >> people just want to feel like they're doing something. >> yes. as we have reported the obama administration is promising quick action on new gun control laws following the shooting at sandy hook elementary. it is clear plenty of people across the country want to get their hand on guns and now. abc's mark greenblat has more. >> reporter: the surging demand for guns drew so many to this gun show near los angeles over the weekend, the worry wasn't weapons but the size of the crowds. this father brought his daughter along to stock up. worried about looming gun reforms. >> we went through and came down here to got what we wanted

before everything is illegal. >> reporter: closer to newtown, at least four gun shows canceled. the show went on though in nearby stanford, connecticut, even after the local mayor called the organizers insensitive. what did you say to the mayor? >> i say he is wrong. >> reporter: why is he wrong? >> this is a private thing. he shouldn't be expressing his opinion on it. >> reporter: "the washington post" reports a task force led by vice president joe biden is considering proposing universal background tracks for all gun buyers. tracking sale of weapons through a national database and stiff penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors. how big an impact could it have on american streets? >> some of the proposals could have huge impact on deaths and murders that happen every day from guns. you are talking keeping it out of hands of convicted felons. dangerously mentally ill. >> reporter: a democrat from north dakota with an a-rating from the nra told george stephanopoulos, those proposals

go too far. >> that's way -- way an extreme of what i think is necessary or should be talked about. it is not going to pass. >> reporter: one of the members of the vice presidential task force told me he is pushing for reforms beyond assault weapons because he wants to keep any gun out of the hand of criminals or mentally ill. >> some measures talked about were outlined in "the washington post" article over the weekend. the white house is saying, off the record, said some of the things may not be entirely accurate. still a work in progress. try to temper some of what was reported by the post. >> the bottom line is, i think, we have discussed this many times. okay you have of a gun to protect your home, protect your family, a 38, perhaps a handgun. why do you need the assault weapon? those are the weapons people are trying to get their hand on, the weapons likely targeted by the new gun laws you. don't need them for hunting. you don't need them for personal protection. why do you need them?

>> the gun that is selling extremely well, best of all is ar-15, exact weapon used at sandy hook elementary school. >> military style assault weapon you. need it maybe in the military. why do you need it at home? >> that's the one side of the debate. other folks say, hands off my guns. second amendment. this, the thing is whatever happens. whatever the white house pushes for, another bloodbath on capitol hill to get anything through. early signs are they're going to go beyond reinstating assault weapons ban and getting rid of high-capacity magazines. the white house may go further than that. it will be a contentious battle. stay tuned. >> stay tuned. a 17-year-old alabama high school student due in court this morning. accused of plotting to blow up his school in a hate crime spree. police say derek shrout charged as an adult with attempted assault. he describes himself as a white supremacist. a teacher discovered a journal detailing his terror plans.

police found dozens of shrapnel-filled containers at the teenager's home. nearly six months after the aurora, colorado, movie massacre, a pretrial hearing opens today for james holmes. holmes charged with killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. at the week-long hearing, prosecutors will lay out their case and a judge will decide whether to send it to trial. many legal experts believe the evidence is simply so overwhelming. holmes will accept a plea deal. growing concerns over a major flu outbreak. hospitals like this one in minnesota are taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the flu. some visitors are restricted or banned. and anyone with symptoms will get treatment without tests. we asked abc news, senior medical contributor, dr. jennifer ashton how to avoid getting sick. >> the fda approved tamiflu for infants as young as 2 weeks of age.

a big difference and speaks to how vulnerable children and infants are to the flu first most important thing, get a flu vaccine. it is not too late. still enough available. second thing, keep your hands, anything your hands touch, phones, keyboards clean as possible. that's how the virus is transmitted. very important to do that. >> that was abc's dr. jennifer ashton. who also by the way recommend getting plenty of vitamin d to avoid getting sick. she says, 70% of americans are deficient in the vitamin. in other news this morning, a $9.7 billion bill to help victims of superstorm sandy is logged. president obama signed the aid deal which will pay flood insurance claims. the white house says 100,000 claims would have been held up without extra money. house vote next week on a more comprehensive $51 billion sandy aid package. the vote expedited after republicans, democrats, assailed

boehner for not getting it done, fiscal cliff deal. apparently now $60 billion on the way, badly needed money when you compare it to how fast, say, katrina victims got their aid. what's happening in the northeast with sandy. >> at least it happened. >> yes. better late than never. right? >> exactly. a look at your weather. heavy rain in the pacific northwest mountain snow in the cascade and rockies. evening thunderstorms from houston to corpus christi. showers, thunderstorms in florida. thawing from denver to new york. >> 40s here in the northeast, 30s, fargo to detroit. 55, sacramento. 61 in phoenix. oh as you all know, christian holiday season is officially over. ending with this weekend's feast of the three kings. >> right. i celebrated that. absolutely. in mexico city the celebration was especially festive. aimed primarily at children. who traditionally receive their gifts on january 6th. more than 150,000 balloons were

released. each one carrying a letter asking for their favorite toy. >> the celebration based on the story of the three wisemen who journey to bethlehem to greet jesus christ shortly after he was born. great meaning and pretty pictures. >> yeah, a big deal. in puerto rico where i was briefly on vacation. we always celebrated this at home. it's bigger than christmas. >> really? huge. >> you put out this box. fill it with grass. three kings come. camels, horses, eat the grass. they replace it with gifts. >> filled with grass, huh. sound like christmas at snoop's house. >> just grass. >> sorry, wilson, to offend you with the snoop dogg. a follow up about the woman fired for her good looks. first, a story that could have had a very sad ending. how a baby was thrown 25 feet out of a car window and survived with a few scratches.

you are watching "world news now." ♪ i will let you be ♪ i will i will "world news now" weather brought to you by gerber life y gerber lif insurance. life insurance.

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now to an unbelievable story of survival. a young mother gets into a car crash, and the impact send her 6-month-old son out the window. >> this story is unbelievable, here. the baby survived, believe it or not. that's why this one is our "favorite story of the day." how it happened is really almost miraculous. here now is abc's paula faris. >> reporter: the chilling wreckage of a terrifying car crash. >> just was praying that i would be okay. >> reporter: 18-year-old china was driving to her mother's house thursday night with her 6-month-old son, gabriel, when the unimaginable happened. >> there was a stop sign. i was slowing down. wasn't going to make it. i was looking to make sure nothing was going to hit me. and at that time, that there, the car was hit, hitting me.

>> reporter: a collision with a pickup truck sent her baby flying from his car seat, hurled out the window 25 feet into the air. >> i heard the lady yelling, "there is a baby. i think the baby flew out the window." i realized my baby is not in my car anymore. >> reporter: the baby landed somewhere in the soft snow. china managed to crawl her way out of the wreckage frantically looking for her baby. the driver of the pickup truck found him buried at the bottom of a snow bank and picked him up. >> i saw this lady had him. she was sitting there crying. >> reporter: mom and baby were treated at a local hospital. when i got there, bless his little soul. he was chewing on a pacifier looking around. total relief knowing he was all right. >> reporter: and mother and her son are safely back home and recovering. paula faris, abc news, new york. >> 25 feet that kid flew. >> i can't imagine that. my son's name is gabrielle, as a

mother the thought of looking in your car, not seeing the car seat. first thing you do. check your baby is strapped in. >> thank god the kid was crying. that's how they heard it buried under the snow. >> that is miraculous. >> very lucky family. >> something at work there. >> absolutely. higher, bigger force. yeah, we will be back with more "world news now" after this. "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations

well they are one of the most storied college football programs in history. but notre dame has not won a championship in a quarter century. but tonight, much look you wished, that could all change. >> that's right, my fighting irish, my alma mater, thank you very much. will square off against alabama

in the bcs national championship game. both teams have an extra motivation. here is abc's josh elliott. ♪ >> reporter: it is the super bowl of the college game, a national championship arguably as anticipated as any in sports history. >> to be the best, you have to beat the best. >> reporter: alabama playing for a second straight national title, but standing in their way, a resurgeant notre dame looking for its first national title in a quarter century. >> a good time there for us to win this championship. >> reporter: the fighting irish stand on history's doorstep thanks in part to senior captain and linebacker manti te'o, the emotional core of the team. earlier this season he lost his grandmother and hours later learned his girlfriend died of

leukemia and yet persevered. >> last three years, i sat in my living room, watching the game. i do not want to sit in the living room watching this game. >> reporter: on the other side of the field, a.j. mccaren not just playing for his team but a little girl undergoing treatment for leukemia a little over a year ago. she gave him a bright yellow bracelet inscribed with the words, just trust. he will be wearing it on the field. >> i never take it off. i will always think about her. she is a special girl. >> reporter: so much emotion, so much drama, and so much at stake. josh elliott, abc news, miami. >> and you can watch notre dame take on alabama tonight on espn, 8:00 eastern time. you certainly know which team you will be rooting for. >> go irish! had to get that out! yes! had to get that out! >> whoa, look at that. whoa, sunny. >> i had to get that out. >> was that from college or your honeymoon? ha-ha! i'm voting for notre dame too. go irish. i like the story. we'll be back.

go irish. i like the story. we'll be back. "are you a cool mom?" i'm gonna find out. [ female announcer ] swiffer wetjet's pads are better than ever. now they have the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser so you don't have to get down on your hands and knees to scrub away tough, dried-on stains. hey, do you guys think i'm "momtacular" or "momtrocious"? ♪ [ female announcer ] swiffer. now with the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser.

welcome back, everybody to "the mix." no, you are not confused, "the mix," slight change in production schedule in overnight show. "the mix" airing at a different time. a new thing from here on out. don't worry, you are not going crazy. just a change on our end. >> still be here. this first story has me up in arms. >> you are worked up. >> outraged. a woman in iowa, a dental assistant. the dentist, her boss, digs her. they never had an affair. she doesn't like him. he is married. the wife is like i am uncomfortable with her being the dental assistant. for years, she was doing a great job. there she is. kind of attractive woman. he fires her because he felt he would try to start an affair with her.

she takes it to court, hey i have been discriminated against. i am a woman. seven-man court. they decide no, it is not discrimination. now she, of course, is asking them to reconsider it. it is so absurd. it is so absurd. they missed the point. that's why you have to have men and women on a court. you can't just have seven men. because they just miss the point. >> i am stunned it happened. then the court upheld it. the court that upheld it, all dudes. >> all dudes. >> that's awful. that's all. she would still have her job. >> you're the lawyer. defend how the seven man court can uphold that, how can it be legal rationale? >> saying it's not gender discrimination. saying it know it cool this happened but wasn't illegal. emotional. not gender discrimination. they miss the point. if she were a guy, she would have her job. >> she loses her job because he can't control himself. that seems ridiculous. on a lighter, less controversial note. the american dialect society has now voted for the word of the year, for 2012, that word is hashtag.

you are a twitteraholic. you fully appreciate this. >> i'm more facebook addict. slowly getting into twitter here. bill zimmer said in his statement, this was the year when hashtag became a phenomenon in online talk. hashtag. sign of the times. >> talking about twitter, library of congress. check this out. almost finished archiving 170 billion of your tweets. that's right. 2006, when twitter was founded and april 2010. all the drunk tweets you sent out. library of congress has them. stop doing that. >> nothing should be archived after midnight. super bowl, coming up, february 3. a sneak peek of puppy bowl 9. which is going to air around the super bowl time. gma has an exclusive mock puppy bowl coming up january 30. we have the exclusive look, for all of you die-hard puppy bowl fans.

this morning on "world news now" -- controversial choice. the former gop senator the president may nominate to be secretary of defense. >> why chuck hagel may face an uphill political battle to this critical cabinet position. it's monday, january 7th. from abc news, this is "world news now." good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on assignment. you will hear about chuck hagel's pending nomination and the buzz it is creating worldwide in our top story. >> interesting choice there, could be another bloody few weeks for multiple reasons. >> critics on both side of this one. >> hagel has opponents on both

sides of that aisle. the announcement could come late later today from the president. also this morning, james holmes, the suspected colorado movie theater gunman he appears in court just hours from now. why the hearing taking place could be the closest he gets to a trial. >> unbelievable. also that case over the weekend from aurora, a hostage situation where four people including the gunman were killed. that town has been through -- >> unbelievable. >> unbelievable things since july. >> since july, that first movie theater massacre happened. later this half hour, check your wallets. there is more funny money hitting the streets as counterfeiters get even more clever. the costly crime and what the government is trying to do to stop it. >> hard to tell. >> yeah. >> i think. right? >> i don't even check. >> i have seen it. seen it before. >> i have never seen it. i only check if willis gives me money. i will start checking more. from elected office to driving around, yes, in his own personal tank. why this vehicle is truly something special to former california governor arnold

schwarzenegger. more details coming up in "the skinny." look at that. >> arnold is many things, dull is not one of them. huh? first, president obama is back from vacation, but also facing a major battle on capitol hill. >> that's right, top lawmakers on both sides of the aisles are already attacking the president's choice to head the pentagon. abc's david kerley reports from the white house. >> reporter: as the president returned from hawaii, senior officials tell abc news he will nominate former republican senator chuck hagel as the next secretary of defense. >> chuck hagel is out of the mainstream thinking i believe on most issues regarding foreign policy. >> reporter: republicans raised red flags continuing a campaign against hagel. >> chuck hagel is not a responsible option. >> reporter: democrats too have been cold to hagel, a social conservative. republicans complain about his stand on afghanistan, that we, quote, went well beyond our mission. and his opposition to the surge

in iraq. saying it -- >> represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam if it is carried out. >> reporter: but a comment about israel and what he called the jewish lobby which intimidates capitol hill that angered many. >> this is an in-your-face nomination by the president to all of us who are supportive of israel. >> reporter: picking a republican to lead the pentagon makes strategic sense to the president, with budget cuts looming. >> republicans don't like chuck hagel one of their own? >> chuck hagel bucked the republican party establishment opposing the war in iraq. so there is no surprise. >> reporter: hagel does have the most important supporter. >> i served with chuck hagel. i know him. he is a patriot. >> reporter: the president will have a fight on his hand with the nomination and among democrats his own party which controls the senate and confirmation process. one of the reasons the white house was telling senate democrats this nomination is

coming, hoping to soften the blow. david kerley, abc news, the white house. in other news this morning -- secretary of state hillary clinton is returning to work today for the first time in a month. of course, she was side lined by a stomach virus, concussion, and most recently a blood clot in her head that landed her in the hospital for three days. clinton's schedule includes nearly a dozen meetings this week. it's not clear when she will testified about the benghazi attack as she promised. of course, she will step down in a few weeks and senator john kerry expected to take over. rare speech from syrian president bashar assad has drawn a quick and blunt reaction from the obama administration. a defiant assad rejected international calls to step down and tried to justify his crackdown on anti-government rebels. he outlined plans for a national reconciliation conference and new constitution as well. but the u.s. state department says the syrian leader is "detached from reality." >> spokesperson for the state department released a statement saying, quote, assad has lost

legitimacy and must step aside to enable a political solution and democratic transition that meets aspirations of the syrian people. you would think at this point. 60,000 syrians have been killed since this broke out two years ago. how do you negotiate peace with that much blood on the streets? >> exactly. what is fascinating is what he is floating as something that he floated years ago, and -- just, didn't have any teeth. just wasn't credible. i think also, at this point. even the turkish head of state, former ally, is speaking out against assad. he just has no allies at this point. i think the description of assad being sort of detached from reality -- pretty realistic. >> something to that, absolutely. the world is saying "get out. this is not going to last." but no one is taking definitive action to push him out. that's the difference. >> that's true. >> lot of talk so far at least right now. almost six months after the aurora, colorado, movie massacre, a pretrial hearing

opens today for suspect james holmes. holmes is charged with killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. at the week-long hearing, prosecutors will lay out their case. a judge will decide whether to send it to trial. many legal experts believe the evidence is so overwhelming, holmes will likely accept a plea deal. i have to agree with that. >> that seems to be his only option, realistically, right? >> no question. i think with the pretrial hearings, preliminary hearings, i have conducted many of them myself. you sort of lay it out for the other side so that the writing is on the wall. so that everyone knows, this is what a trial will look like for your client. and it will be so graphic, and the evidence is so overwhelming this is something you don't want to do. and i think that, that's what is happening. there is no question he is the shooter. >> right. really if it could go to trial the community there would have to relive the gory, horrendous awful details of what happened that morning, that night. and no one -- in aurora, they

have been through enough. you don't want to have them sit through the testimony. >> i'm sure prosecutors have said to many families of the victims, listen you may want to leave the courtroom or not be there during the hearing because they are going to lay out in graphic detail everything that happened. >> plea deal sounds the right way. see how it plays out in court. 17-year-old alabama high school student due in court this morning, accused of plotting to blow up his school in a hate crime spree. police say derek shrout is a self-proclaimed white supremacist, and he is being charged as an adult with attempted assault. after a teacher discovered a journal detailing terror plans. police say they found shrapnel filled containers at the teenager's home. an intruder who broke into a home near atlanta ended up in the hospital after coming face to face with a very protective mom. the woman heard the man come

inside and start rummaging around her house. she grabbed her 9-year-old twins and her gun and hid in a crawlspace in the attic. when the man opened the door she opened fire. >> my wife is a hero. she protected her kids. she did what she was supposed to do as a responsible, prepared gun owner. >> the perpetrator opens that door -- of course, at that time, he is staring at her. her two children and a 38 revolver. >> she fired off all six rounds. shooting paul slater five times in the face and neck. police say he tried to escape in his truck but crashed up the road. the woman and her kids were not hurt. switching gears now, to sports, and washington redskins quarterback, robert griffin iii, ended his stellar rookie season pretty painfully. in his first ever playoff appearance, griffin reinjured his ailing right knee in the fourth quarter against the seattle seahawks. while trying to scoop a bad snap, griffin went down, with

his knee buckling badly behind him. and left the game limping. >> i think i did put myself at more risk by being out there. but every time you step on the football field, in between the lines, you are putting your life, your career, every single ligament in your body in jeopardy. >> griffin had sprained his knee early last month and was wearing a brace. this morning critics are questioning whether griffin should have played at all. he is scheduled to get an mri today. lot of people questioning the redskins' coach on that call. why not yank him. yep. hockey fans are celebrating the end of a lockout that has wiped out nearly four months of the season. the last time fans saw any action on the ice was back in november. a charity game between new york/new jersey, players for victims of hurricane sandy. the league and union tentatively agreed on a new ten-year deal that drops players' shares and lowers the salary cap as well. season could get under way as early as next week. hockey fans rejoice.

four months, that's a lot of missed games and missed money. thousands of young men around the world took the plunge yesterday. a leap of faith, marking a notable event for christians. >> about 50 greek orthodox boys, joined the epiphany festivities in florida, diving into a bayou to retrieve a floating cross and commemorate the baptism of jesus by john the baptist. >> it only took 16-year-old vasilio harding a few seconds to reach the cross. a triumph that should bring him a year of blessings. >> last year, in fact, funny story here. the cross sank the middle of the event. the archbishop had to throw in another one, eventually. this year's went better. even though -- >> pretty quickly. >> well done. coming up next, who did you think tops the list of this year's hottest women? details coming up on that in today's "the skinny."

letters of love. sent decades ago. why they are so meaningful to a couple today. you are watching "world news now." ♪ "world news now" weather brought to you by mucinex fast max liquid and caplet. mucinex fast max liquid and caplet. [ roasting firewood ] ♪ many hot dogs are within you. try pepto-bismol to-go, it's the power of pepto, but it fits in your pocket. now tell the world daniel... of pepto-bismol to-go.

technology is a tricky thing when it comes to matters of finance. >> it is more important than ever to make sure your money is secure from all those cyber

thieves running around out there. >> now, better technology inside ordinary offices is fueling a counterfeit boom. abc's steve osunsami has more. >> reporter: it looks real. this $100 bill is funny money and production is booming. federal authorities are saying that in most cases the crooks are using everyday office equipment. scanners, printers and printer ink. >> it is easier and it is faster today because of copiers and sophistication in different type of inking systems. >> reporter: in atlanta they busted a graphic artist known as the printer. prosecutors say that heath kellogg, his father and four other men produced more than $1 million in counterfeit bills. using a printer to print out fake 50s. printing the front of the bill on one sheet. back of the bill on another. before carefully gluing it all together. there are a flood of "how-to"

guides on the internet. in november, rhode island police arrested this man who learned how to make a chemical soup to rub off ink on $5, turning them into fake 100s. he maintained he is innocent. >> if the consumer takes the time to match the watermark and knows it doesn't match the portrait, they would know something was wrong with the bill. >> reporter: the government says new security features do help. >> if you take the note and tilt it back and forth, you will see the 100 in the lower right corner, actually shifts from copper to green. >> reporter: now is a good time to take a closer look at the money in your pocket. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> wow. go ahead. >> it says, you know, we have learned that if you handle money regularly, it is likely you have passed at least one fake bill. remarkable. apparently, the fake bills, i have touched them. they do feel a little slicker than, than others. >> there is a certain feel to it. they say a tutorial on detecting counterfeit currency, on the website of the treasury department and secret service if you want to do investigating. >> let me touch it. >> i rarely carry cash, check out this $10 bill. >> let me touch it. >> is it real? >> i am not sure.

i may have to call secret service. >> willis gave me the $10. something wrong with. >> something up with this. this could be funny money. >> uh-huh. i'll check it out. i'm calling. i'm calling. >> funny money, willis. >> yes, officer, come get mr. willis. >> for shame. for shame. >> there is $100. >> there is $100. >> okay, boss. >> for shame. >> i know you don't have one. >> i have fake nickels. coming up next, something surprisingly smart about honey booboo's mama. why arnold schwarzenegger thinks his tank is something truly special. coming up next in "the skinny." "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

♪ skinny >> skinny in the house! >> good morning, willis. a follow-up to the story. talking about a few days ago in "the skinny," the whole late night talk show battle, leno, kimmel, fallon, those guys. according to reports those at tv critic association 2013 winter press tour on sunday looks like jay leno will have his contract

extended past his expiration date of 2014. there have been some grumblings they would let him go and slide jimmy fallon into the spot. looks like the 62-year-old leno will keep the spot past 2014. host of the show since carson left in 1992. made sense they would move fallon into the leno spot, for the younger demo. and starting tomorrow, jimmy kimmel is switching time slots here at abc with "nightline." kimmel will be on earlier. looked like that was the match up brewing. those who like jay leno he is going to be there past 2014. interesting. the late night wars continue. >> continue. >> exactly. arnold schwarzenegger, he has certainly been in the news for a long time. but now he has his own personal tank. that's right. he took it for a spin recently. apparently he had it quite some time. this is the original tank that he drove when he was in the austrian army, when he was 18 years old. that's the terminator. yes, going over a car. because he is having fun doing that.

i guess. >> driving to the maid's house? maid's house? what is he doing? >> or hiding from maria. hiding from maria. >> protection from maria. smart you got that car. and speaking of women -- >> you would need it if you were married to me. >> don't get her worked up on that. men's health ranks the hottest women of 2013, seven days old, they're into it. take the top three, according to men's health magazine. coming in at number three, christina hendricks, from "mad men" and number two, mila kunis, ms. ashton kutcher. and number one, katy perry. according to "men's health" magazine, ranked hottest women in the world. top three. discuss among yourselves. >> mama june, honey booboo's mother. smart thing. she set up trust funds for her daughter. they don't live on any of the money and they will get it when they turn 21 years old. smart lady.

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>> willis dancing behind the camera. saw him moving over there. a common and touching way for spouses to communicate during war, we are talking about the classic, love letter. >> this morning, the story of a couple who thought they lost those priceless words. but as abc's david muir reports, their letters survived. >> there are hundreds of them, handwritten letters from the 1940s, sent while lloyd michael was serving in the army air corps in europe during world war ii. love letters he would send home to his young wife and the

heartfelt notes she would send in return. >> sweetheart, i love you with all my heart. >> your devoted hubby, mike. god bless you, marian. >> reporter: tender words safely kept locked in a trunk. in the 1970s a thief broke into their home and the trunk was part of what was stolen. gone were all the words they shared during the war. >> our love letters. how anybody could steal our love letters. >> reporter: what they didn't know, decades later the letters ended up in the hand of a stamp collector. when he died the collector's son began searching for the two names signed at the bottom of the letters, lloyd and marian. finding lloyd through his military service number. and lloyd remembers that call. >> he says, "i have something of yours. i have got a box of letters." >> reporter: marian sent lloyd a letter nearly every day during the war. every day marian would look in the mail for confirmation her husband was alive. >> it just brings back all the memories and the tension and

the, not knowing. >> it's very emotional for us. >> reporter: the michaels were just 18 and 19 when they married. they now have four children, eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren. and they sent us this new photograph marking their 70th anniversary on new year's eve. and on their 70th, a vow to read every one of those letters. >> if the lord leaves us enough time, we might read them all. >> david muir, abc news, new york. >> aw. >> you like that story? >> i do. >> that brings us to the topic of this morning's facebook question. >> we want to know what was the best love letter you ever received? log on to wnnfans.com. and give us the details. do you write love letters? >> i admit i don't. i will buy a really well worded card. have you ever written a love letter? >> no. i have received them. >> oh. >> they have been beautiful. >> dear sunny, you are my favorite anchor. so sorry about that counterfeit money i gave you. this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.

>> have great monday.

this morning, washington's next fight begins. >> the president bracing for a bruising battle over his pick to lead the pentagon, but as that nomination fight looms, so do several other major conflicts between the white house and capitol hill. lone wolf. how a teen's plot to allegedly plant bombs at school was discovered by a teacher. flu epidemic. it's not too late to prevent serious cases in your home. and family values. the unlikely trust fund family. financial lessons from honey boo-boo? and good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on